Speaking of franchises being molested, the Wizardry gacha has launched on steam (as of a few days ago)!
"The what-", you may ask, but it's exactly as it sounds: it's a Wizardry live-service game that updates with new content + dungeons every few weeks/months, where you pull for your party members via gacha, made on a shoe-string budget of...look, calling it "jank" doesn't do it justice, it's absolutely no-money all the way down, filled to the brim with microtransactions, it is strictly for the sickos who somehow don't have enough Wizardry and Wizardry-adjacent video games the last several decades. See: Boomers, the Japanese people, Japanese Boomers.
Trouble is, after a few hours of playing it, I can see myself running dungeons as more content is updated. Fair warning, it is a shoddy PC port at a fixed resolution, nProtect GameGuard Anti-Cheat, can't change voices to Japanese, and a whole slew of new bugs that come with making a barebones port. If you are, indeed, one of those Wizardry sickos, or have an insatiable curiosity, check it out below and do not spend big money on the gacha because the prices + rates are equally atrocious. You'll be showered with free units and pulls by playing the game over a prolonged period of time through the various events, to my current understanding, so keep true to Kronii's words of wisdom: #NoFOMONoHomo
Instead of burning money, you could instead purchase any one of the other Wizardry (and Wizardry-like) games currently on steam, and possibly become a sicko yourself. Listing them below for easy access, and for the long-shot of getting Chuubas into yet another boomer game series/genre, with the rising popularity of Frieren, Delicious in Dungeon, Goblin Slayer, Solo Leveling, and the like:
Wizardry 6-7-8 is a trilogy where you can take your party through all three games, if they survive. The most dated of the recommendations, but they're classics for a reason!
This one's more anime-inspired, consider it Wizardry 1+, like most Japanese-inspired Wizardry products and successors. The sequel is currently trapped in Japan, and this didn't sell enough to warrant the continued localization (unless...?)
Here's the modern, 3D remake of the first Wizardry, running on top of the actual Wizardry 1. Everything to say about this game has already been said, really! This is where you can find the links to various game/anime franchises that came afterward, specifically on the Japanese creative side (they *really* love Wizardry).
This is the Wizardry title where you can run labyrinths/scenarios made by others, and they're making the effort to provide remastered versions of the other Wizardry Gaiden scenarios as well (with continued updates throughout this year). It was originally caught in a legal battle while the Wizardry license was in flux, hence the notice about Wizardry 1-5 on the store page (and they will take action against anyone making scenarios regarding Wizardry 1-5). I remember this specifically, because I was waiting for it to launch for months and months while the legal issues took place, and I hope this doesn't happen again with further Wizardry titles!
One of the many successors to Wizardry on the Japanese side of development, Elminage wears the inspiration on its sleeve proudly, but shouldn't be pursued unless you are already invested in this style of game:
And then there's Etrian Odyssey, the modernization of Wizardry, even though the latest entry in the series is MIA (it was announced years ago for the Nintendo Switch, and briefly resurfaced with Metaphor: ReFantazio). If you are already aware of Etrian Odyssey, then you are more likely to enjoy DRPGs such as Wizardry in the first place:
So what I'm getting at is, please do not spend exorbitant amounts of money on the gacha, when there are fully-fledged games you could buy instead.
